Janam (My Soul) blends Balkan and American roots and original music to create “rapturous acoustic textures, whirling rhythms and stunning vocal harmonies.” This is a collection of original tunes and traditional melodies from Bulgaria, Greece, Hungary, Bosnia, Armenia and the U.S.
Dan Auvil – tupan, daire, doumbeleki, voice; Tom Farris – guitars, laouto, riqq; Juliana Graffagna – voice, accordion; Gari Hegedus – oud, mandocello, mandolin, saz; and Shira Kammen – violin, medieval harp, voice.
Stream, or purchase the digital album ($7) at janam.bandcamp.com/album/venus-landing, or order a hard-copy CD by emailing janamband@gmail.com.
A cinematic journey of unusual, danceable, highly syncopated compositions with instruments ancient and modern. Features eight original compositions by the band and two traditional folk songs, Na Khelav, Na Gilavav and Sandansko Horo.
Drew Schmieding – drums; Ben Rolston – electric bass;
Bethanni Grecynski – trombone; vocals, kaval; Eric Schweizer – reeds; Derek Worthington – trumpet. Guest artists on the album include Adam Good, Riste Tevdoski, Jordan Shapiro, Molly Jones and Abby Alwin.
Available streaming and as a digital album (“name your price) at ornamatik.bandcamp.com.
After 33 years of being a staple in the Balkan music and dance scene in the Seattle area, Orkestar RTW has recorded a CD.
The five-piece band started in 1987 as the house band for the Radost Folk Ensemble. Named in the tradition of post-World War II Balkan radio and television house bands (such as Orkestar Radio-Televizije Beograd), Orkestar RTW (Orkestar Radio-Televizije Washington) plays the music of those bands, primarily traditional dance and folk music from Bulgaria, Macedonia, and Serbia. Read more at www.orkestarrtw.com.
Tim McCormack – drums; Ronald Long – accordion; Teodora Dimitrova – vocals, tambura; Jana Rickel – bass, vocals; and Steve Shadle – clarinet/vocals.
Stream or purchase the digital album ($10) at orkestarrtw.bandcamp.com/album/orkestar-rtw. For a physical CD, send an e-mail with your address to orkestar.rtw@gmail.com, and PayPal $15 to that same address. Shipping and sales tax are included.
New and Notableby Martin Koenig
Between 1966 and 1979, educator, cultural documentarian and sometime EEFC workshop instructor Martin Koenig made half a dozen trips to Bulgaria.
Working in villages throughout the country, Koenig filmed, recorded, and photographed the lively, yet endangered, aspects of Bulgaria’s traditional culture. The results are indelibly gathered in Sound Portraits from Bulgaria: the vibrant rural life he experienced, the virtuosic musicians and dancers he met, the extraordinary music they made, and the joyous rituals and festivals he witnessed. This collection, published by Smithsonian Folkways, celebrates a way of life that has largely vanished due to industrialization, technology, globalization, and emigration. 109 minutes of music in 2 CDs; 144-page book with photographs and extensive bilingual notes.
Buy two-CD book set ($49.98) or download the album for $19.99; download the liner notes (no charge) and see all the lyrics in Bulgarian and English translation. The tracks are also available for individual purchase and you can sample them here: folkways.si.edu/sound-portraits-from-bulgaria
In this album, Teslim’s second, Kaila Flexer and Gari Hegedus are joined by numerous special guests in a tribute to Kaila’s parents, Abe and Bobbie, who met when they were 11 years old and have been together for over seven decades.
The musicians of Teslim come from different musical worlds, but all share a love of Turkish and Greek folk music, Turkish classical music and other Balkan and Middle Eastern traditions. They thrive on study and rehearsal, and as composers love working collaboratively arranging one another’s work.
Gary Hegedus – oud, saz, mandocello; Elana Brutman – Cretan lyra with sympathetic strings; Josh Mellinger – frame drum, tonbak, cajon, table; and Kaila Flexer – violin, tarhui.
Available streaming or as a digital album ($7) or as a CD ($15) from kailaflexer.bandcamp.com/album/7-decades
Janam (My Soul) blends Balkan and American roots and original music to create “rapturous acoustic textures, whirling rhythms and stunning vocal harmonies.” This is a collection of original tunes and traditional melodies from Bulgaria, Greece, Hungary, Bosnia, Armenia and the U.S.
